Marc Bean, the man who ousted Cabinet Minister Randy Horton as Southampton West’s preferred Progressive Labour Party candidate, will not stand aside supporters said last night.

Some PLP insiders were hoping a compromise could be cobbled together to avoid an embarrassing squabble to be solved by the party big-wigs.

However last night Premier Ewart Brown said independent polling will “cancel out aberrations” wherever they might surface in the party’s candidates’ selection process.

And a senior party source indicated a number of potential candidates backed by local branches faced disappointment as the PLP sought a winning formula for a general election which could be just weeks away.

Mr. Bean beat Mr. Horton by eight votes to one on Thursday night which has left some Horton supporters claiming it was a “stitch up” because he was off the island and the decision was taken by such a small group of people. Mr. Horton could not be contacted for comment last night.

However Mr. Bean’s camp said everybody had notice of a democratic process no different from other branches where similar low turn-outs had been seen and off-Island candidates had still won out. But again the party hierarchy has been stressing the branch recommendations are only the start of the process and the real power lies with the five-person candidates selection committee who are putting in long hours assessing other factors as well as local appeal.

Electability and diversity are also themes weighing on the minds of the five selectors as the party aims to broaden its appeal by boosting numbers of women candidates and possibly introducing some white candidates.

One party source said: “There are numerous candidates who have been recommended who I am quite certain will not be on the final list. You cannot run a political party by popularity within a branch. We are here to win elections, that’s the long and short of it. But branch recommendations are incredibly strong, they do carry a lot of weight.”

Sources close to Mr. Bean, a 35-year-old Government consultant involved with the Mirrors programme for troubled teens and an advisor on CARICOM, said he had wanted the Southampton West seat as that was his neighbourhood and family ties had stretched back decades.

The Royal Gazette has been told Mr. Bean only found out about last Thursday’s vote two days earlier while it is claimed by Mr. Bean’s supporters that Mr. Horton was also aware of the vote but chose to fly out that same day for the cricket world cup final and not submit a letter to be read to the branch - unlike Terry Lister who was also off Island when he won his own nomination in the neighbouring seat.

Sources with the Southampton West branch said there was no personal or ideological split with Mr. Horton but a desire to have a younger candidate involved at the grass roots level.

Mr. Bean is president of Somerset Bridge Recreation Club (SBRC) and options in the West End are running thin after he was heavily beaten by Terry Lister in the race for Sandys South’s nomination.

Other possibilities of solving the impasse including offering either Mr. Bean or Mr. Horton a Senate seat. But Mr. Bean is not thought to be interested while Mr. Horton, who is number three in Government, might see a move to the Upper Chamber as a demotion.

Another option would be to move Mr. Horton to a winnable seat in Hamilton parish where he has his home — however the branches there have already chosen candidates, although they have yet to be ratified by party HQ. Now serving as Education Minister Mr. Horton has held various Cabinet posts and has been a vocal supporter of Ewart Brown.

Last night Opposition leader Michael Dunkley said Mr. Horton had not handled the CedarBridge health scare well and now had a serious credibility problem with his own branch — who would normally be expected to be a bed-rock of support — now turning on him. “When your own people do that it raises a further level of concern.”

Meanwhile the Southampton East branch will vote on who it wants as its representative tonight with mystery surrounding the intentions of Stanley Lowe. Mr. Lowe has represented Southampton East continuously for 30 years and is now Speaker of the House.

As the only surviving member of the 1968 influx of MPs, party supporters might be reluctant to throw him out however it is believed Senator David Burch, who is Public Safety minister, has support in the area where he grew up while Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert is also believed to be still in the mix. One party source said: “It’s a contest. He’s been there almost 40 years. Maybe it’s time he stepped down for some new blood.”

The insider said Mr. Lowe wasn’t sure of the votes last week and had needed another week to shore up support.

One PLP MP said: “Stanley has been very coy about what he’s going to do. I think he’s undecided. He’s been in politics a long time, I guess he wants that as his security blanket.”

Meanwhile The Royal Gazette understands former Senator Raymond Tannock has been given the backing of the Southampton East Central branch to again fight the seat he lost by 20 votes last time to the UBP’s David Dodwell.